After the firestorm: Lake Park-Audubon community divided following coaching controversy

It’s proved to be an emotional, pain-filled week that has had community members pitted against each other.

“It’s been something that continues to divide our school, and I just can’t believe how people have acted on social media and jumped to conclusions without knowing any of the facts,” said Dale Hogie, superintendent of the Lake Park-Audubon School District.

It’s been a tough scenario for all involved and it was something that started out so small: Three Lake Park-Audubon girls basketball players sat down with the coach and a member of the school administration to try to hammer out some complaints they had about his coaching style. The district, in response, put the coach on paid administrative leave while looking into the situation, and the team’s assistant coach stepped away in solidarity with Peterson.

Social media took over once media outlets regionally and across the country picked up the story, and people began picking sides in a vicious manner. The situation is complicated because the coach is able to tell his side of the story, but the school district isn’t.

“We’re bound by confidentiality laws,” Hogie said.

Then Peterson was reinstated earlier this week.

To most, that implied that nothing significant was found in the investigation, leading USA Today to proclaim that it was simply “whiney parents and players” that caused the controversy. But members of the Lake Park-Audubon School District say that while they are not able to share what the specific complaints are, it doesn’t mean they weren’t valid. There was, in fact, a letter of reprimand issued to Peterson, outlining a number of factors the district deemed unacceptable, including times when some players thought Peterson’s comments were degrading and his behavior intimidating. There are several other reasons for the letter of reprimand, but Peterson claims they are not valid, and as of Friday morning, Feb. 2, he had refused to sign the letter of reprimand. The question of “what is over the line and what is simply coaching” appears to be up for debate, depending on who is being asked.

Although two of the girls who filed the complaints decided to leave the team since Peterson’s reinstatement, there are signs that people on both sides of the issue are trying to move on from the controversy that few believed would get so big.

“I understand that it’s hard to come back from that,” sophomore starting center Etta Miosek said of the story going viral online and the social media firestorm the players and coaches have faced.

“Since we are so small, you were either on one side or the other,” Miosek said. “I think even the community was kind of divided. I mean, there’s still talk, but it’s better.”

After Peterson’s reinstatement, the girls won games Monday, Jan. 29, and Tuesday, Jan. 30, against Fosston and Sebeka respectively, but lost to Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal on Thursday, Feb. 1.